There are some national secretaries/presidents
who will be relieved if there is no open election for the next Adyar
Theosophical Society International President as they would not then have to
reveal how few paid up members they actually have. A straight appointment of
the new president by the Theosophical Society ruling elite would conceal the
level of worldwide and individual national memberships and thus avoid revealing
how many Presidents of Nothing are out there. The Indian membership still holds
up but it may be that the International President is virtually President of
Nothing outside India.

National and international leadership
have never seriously tackled the membership issue as an influx of large numbers
of new members would usher in new ideas and challenges to the ancient ways of
doing things. A small membership given little or no information has been much
less of a threat but now information that would normally have been kept from
the wider membership often leaks out via the internet along with discussion and
voices of dissent. Ever greater secrecy and exclusion appears to be the
management response.

This failure of the Adyar leadership and
General Council to communicate with the membership stands in stark contrast to
the Theosophical Order of Service who issue regular bulletins and comprehensive
newsletters to Theosophists throughout the world. The Theosophical Order of
Service organisers also make themselves known to members and can be contacted
directly. The identity of General Council members, on the other hand, is not
generally known outside the General Council. A future Theosophical movement
based on the remnants of the Adyar Theosophical Society may look to the
Theosophical Order of Service as an organisational and administrative model.

A lack of an election would allow the
Theosophical Society aristocracy to continue for a while, as they have done for
decades, in their niches as international spiritually sophisticated gentry. The
subscription paying members aren't in the game and are really just fodder to
support the outdated hierarchical structure. The attempt to disenfranchise the
members in 2008 clearly shows the contempt some elements of the Theosophical
Society elite have for the grass roots and there is no guarantee that this
stunt will not be tried again. It must be obvious to many that the attitude of
an elite inner circle has driven membership down and is keeping it down. I
believe this has been the situation since the 1930s.

What is the current level of
international membership? How long will it be before it falls below the level
required to support the Society structure at international level and the
Society then reforms itself by default? Some comfortable grandees may feel
threatened here but it is likely that most national societies could continue
without an international hierarchy or any central authority in Adyar. Liberated
from the burden of supporting a hierarchy that is mostly out of touch with
membership and an overseas centre that gives nothing in return, many societies
or groups would be able to flourish to the benefit of their members.

†

Sadly, it is unlikely that even with
reform, the Adyar Theosophical Society can remain a unified body and it will
probably break up into smaller groups at both national and international level.
Theosophy will however find a new energy and dynamic and will move forward in
the form of independent bodies who run their own show with just a few groups
harking back to the increasingly remote days of Adyar.